China warns Japan to remain pacifist as Tokyo eyes military return

China has called upon Japan to “remain on the pathway of peace.” The statement comes after Tokyo announced plans to introduce a new law allowing it to offer logistical support to foreign allies’ troops in conflicts abroad.

Beijing hopes Tokyo will “take a correct attitude, stick to its previous correct positions and statements, including the Murayama Statement. We also expect that Japan will remain on the pathway of peace,” Cheng Yonghua, China’s ambassador to Japan, told China Daily newspaper.

The Murayama Statement was released back in 1995 by Japan’s then-PM Tomiichi Murayama. In the document he apologized for the damage and suffering caused by Tokyo to its Asian neighbors during WWII.

“If Tokyo attempts to tackle the war incorrectly, or to impose ambiguity or defiance upon its war-related actions, we will worry about it further honoring the pathway of peace,” he said.

He added that any such attempt will “deal serious harm once again” to Asian people, and the move will feel like “peeling off a fresh scab and rubbing salt in the wound.”